> One of the sources of info that gets to me are the charts that show
> survival rates for different temperatures, without recognizing that the
> loss of functioning in the time necessary to effect a rescue will ensure
> that one stays in for the duration. Vertigo,gasp reflex,inhalation of
> water,numb hands all can keep a person in the water long before core temps
> begin to drop.

Amen, Brother Lee. Hypothermia is not the only thing that can get you.

I'm glad my initial points were taken as constructively as they were intended. Had to bury an old friend last year --- new to kayaking, not new to doing things "his" way. Went out on his own on Lake Erie on Thanksgiving weekend. He was wearing his $700 Kokatat drysuit with all the bells and whistles on it. Under it, he was wearing a thin cotton tee shirt and shorts. Lost his boat a mile or so offshore and, probably then, discovered he hadn't zipped the suit fully. Too late --- may not have been able to zip it up. Didn't have gloves or head protection. He died. That's had something of an impact on me.

Our local Chesapeake Paddlers Association has done a cold water workshop about every other winter for the last few years. Always a sell-out. And we get people thinking about what cold water can do. We also talk about the absolute beauty of being on a backwater which is getting crunchy, and seeing winter critters, and paddling in the snow. But we try to achieve a balance. Not easy.

Dr. Chuck Sutherland has been one of our featured speakers for the last few workshops. One story of Chuck's that always has stuck with me --- in principle if not in detail --- concerns a group of eight Marines doing winter training in an inflatable raft on a river near Quantico. These were young, in-condition Marines practicing some sort of covert team insertion. When their raft overturned, they were less than 50 yards from shore and in shallow water. The air and water was in the low 40s --- much like it is right now. Not one survived.

So think about it --- especially at this time of year. We're lulled into a false sense of security sometimes, especially when we think that staying near shore or paddling small bodies of water will keep us safe. That cold water reflex which causes some people to gasp, inhaling enough icey water to disable and then kill, is just as bad ten yards offshore as it is ten miles offshore.

Didn't mean to turn this into a dirge, folks. I paddle all year --- 'cept when it's too crunchy. It's great to paddle full or extended paddling seasons, and it can be done safely.

Jack Martin